The hosts analyze Freud's essay on narcissism, discussing topics such as the tentative nature of the critique, the significance of castration in Freudian theory, narcissism in early development, internalized object of desire, Lydian and Athenian erotic relationships, becoming a woman, the role of children in narcissistic desire, father-daughter relationship, and the interplay between self-regard and narcissistic libido. They end with a mysterious statement about a murder and the vanishing point of reality.
Freud explores the development of ego and object libido, highlighting different attractions and desires.
Narcissism is a primitive tendency with developmental significance, not inherently perverse.
Psychosis involves a withdrawal of libido from the external world, leading to delusions and a restructuring of reality.
Deep dives
Development of ego and object libido
Freud explores the development of the ego and object libido in the context of narcissism, highlighting the different attractions and desires in males and females. In male development, the mother represents the desired object of love, while in female development, the desire is to be loved by the father. These desires are rooted in early stages of development, such as the mirror stage and the anal stage. Freud also acknowledges the influence of cultural and gender stereotypes on these desires.
The function and role of narcissism
In the podcast episode, the role of narcissism is discussed as a primitive tendency with developmental significance. Freud describes narcissism as a libidinal complement of self-preservation, where the self-preservative drives and sexual drives are still intermingled. He also differentiates between normal narcissism and perversion, emphasizing that narcissism is not inherently perverse. Furthermore, Freud highlights the formation of narcissism's function, particularly in the context of love and the connection between narcissism and motherhood.
The connection between narcissism and psychosis
The podcast explores the connection between narcissism and psychosis, particularly in the case of Schreber. Freud explains that psychosis involves a withdrawal of libido from the external world, leading to a damming up of ego libido, where the libido comes back onto the ego. In psychosis, there is a replacement of objects in the external world, with a hyper-concentration of libido on the ego. This transformation is accompanied by delusions and a restructuring of reality. The podcast also mentions the importance of self-observation and how it contributes to the genesis of the super-ego and conscience.
The nature of narcissism and megalomania
Narcissism is described as a heightened state of ego libido, while megalomania refers to an intense state of ego libido that dissociates from the world. Megalomania can lead to the delusional recreation of the world in one's own image. The distinction between paraphrenic affections and transference neurosis lies in the attachment of libido: in paraphrenia, libido withdraws onto the ego, while in transference neurosis, libido is attached to objects in fantasy. Megalomania corresponds to the psychical mastering of ego libido, withdrawn from objects back to the ego.
The role of self-regard in relationships
Self-regard is influenced by being loved or not loved in love relationships. Being loved raises self-regard, while not being loved lowers it. Individuals in love relationships experience a decrease in self-regard and become humble. The ability to feel loved raises self-regard. The impoverishment of the ego due to large libido catexes can also lower self-regard.
The relationship between self-love and civilization
Self-love has an intimate connection with narcissistic libido. It binds a person's self-regard and a considerable amount of homosexual libido. Self-love, in the sense of self-regard, is related to the narcissistic element within love relationships. Sublimation involves deviating sexual drives from their object, while idealization is connected to object choices and ego images. The tension between sublimation and idealization is involved in the development of civilization.
